European judges have ruled that jailing offenders indefinitely without access to rehabilitation courses is a breach of their human rights.

The decision by the European Court of Human Rights relates to the delays experienced by three inmates, who needed to complete courses before being considered for release.

Jailing offenders until they complete rehabilitation courses is a ‘breach of human rights’ (PA)

At the court, the men argued their right to liberty had been breached as they were unable to get on the courses to show how their behaviour had changed, a condition laid down in indeterminate imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences.

The court blamed a ‘lack of resources’ for the issues and awarded the men between £12,000 and £16,000 in compensation and costs.

Justice secretary Chris Grayling told the Commons: ‘I am very disappointed by the decision. It is not an area where I welcome the court seeking to make rulings.’

The government has already confirmed it will appeal the decision.

Currently, there are more than 6,000 prisoners in England and Wales serving sentences which require them to complete courses in prison before being eligible for release.

More than 3,500 are over the sentence imposed by the original judge, meaning that many of them could be eligible for compensation.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Public protection will not be put at risk – the judgment does not find that indeterminate sentences are unlawful, and will not mean prisoners currently serving IPP sentences will have to be released.’